Bath House at Sir Moses Montefiore Synagogue

Summary

A freestanding ritual bath house, or Mikveh, built in 1916 to serve Grimsby's Jewish congregation of the Sir Moses Montefiore Synagogue.

Reasons for Designation

The Bath House at Sir Moses Montefiore Synagogue in Grimsby is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:

Architectural Interest:
* as an exceptionally rare survival of a freestanding Mikveh, a uniquely Jewish building type used for the purpose of ritual purification;

* for the legibility of the function of the building in its architecture, which includes a deep plinth and steps to the entrance to allow for the bath to be sunk into the floor, and a bathing room lit by roof and top lights to maintain privacy;

* for the rare survival of the interior sunken bath.

Historic Interest:
* for its ritual significance, demonstrating that the practice of ritual bathing was important to Grimsby’s Jewish community.

Group Value:
* for its clear historic and functional relationship with Sir Moses Montefiore synagogue (NHLE: 1379853).

History

In the late C19, Grimsby was the third largest centre (after London and Hull) for Jewish immigration. The Grimsby Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1865 and initially used a cottage in Strand Street for worship. Funds were eventually raised to build a permanent place of worship on Heneage Street. The new synagogue was constructed between 1885 and 1888 and was dedicated to the memory of the Jewish philanthropist, Sir Moses Montefiore.

A freestanding bath house, known as a Mikveh, was built to the rear of the synagogue in 1916. A mikveh is a purifying bath used to achieve ritual purity. Immersion in a mikveh may form part of the process of conversion to Judaism, and women may immerse before getting married or when observing the laws of niddah (menstrual purity). Traditionally a mikveh would be sunk into the ground and contain around 200 gallons of water, derived from or combined with a fresh water source such as a spring or rainwater.

The Mikveh to the rear of Sir Moses Montefiore Synagogue originally contained a square, sunken immersion pool, and wooden partitioned changing cubicles. The building had become derelict by the 1980s, and by the 2020s the interior partitions had been removed and the immersion pool infilled with rubble.

Details

A freestanding ritual bath house, or Mikveh, built in 1916 to serve Grimsby's Jewish congregation of the Sir Moses Montefiore Synagogue.

MATERIALS: the principal, east elevation is of red brick with ashlar and blue brick dressings and a rendered plinth. The sides and rear are of yellow brick and the roof is of Welsh slate (covered over in 2024).

PLAN: the building is situated to the west of the Sir Moses Montefiore Synagogue and is rectangular on plan with a projecting central entrance porch.

EXTERIOR: the three-bay building is a single storey in height and has a pitched roof. The principal elevation faces east and is raised above ground level on a deep, tapered plinth capped with chamfered blue brick and a flush ashlar band. The projecting central porch is accessed by a set of five stone steps. The entrance door has a three-pane fan light (boarded over) set within a double-chamfered, round-arch brick reveal. Above the doorway is a brick parapet with a central stone pediment featuring a relief inscription that reads ‘Mikveh’ in Hebrew lettering. The south bay features a square casement window with glazing bars (boarded over) and a stone lintel and sill. The north bay is blank. There are small, ornate terracotta ventilation grilles to both outer bays. The pitched roof sits above a two-course brick eaves and has coped gables with brick kneelers. The east pitch features a large rooflight and the west pitch has a brick stack with a four-course corbelled brick and ashlar cap. The south elevation features a small, first-floor window with a stone sill and lintel, a blocked door opening with a stone lintel and a low opening within a rounded brick arch. The north and west elevations are blank, with the north elevation built into the line of the boundary wall.

INTERIOR: the entrance leads into a large room with a tiled floor and glazed tiled walls. The space is lit with a central light-well composed of four, nine-light panes to the ceiling, some of which are missing. Gaps in the tiling of the floor and walls indicate the former position of partitions. A square, sunken immersion pool is situated in the north-east corner of the room, currently infilled with rubble. To the south of the main room, a doorway leads into a small front office with a picture rail. Adjacent is an arched doorway with a fan light leading to a tiled vestibule containing a further door with a top light leading to a toilet.

This list entry was subjected to a Minor Enhancement on 9 February 2016 to add a Source

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

479288

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Gerlis, Daphne and Leon, The Story of the Grimsby Jewish Community, (1986)
Kadish, Sharman, Building Jerusalem: Jewish Architecture in Britain, (1996)
Marks, K, The Archaeology of Anglo-Jewry in England and Wales 1656-c1880, (2014), 118-122

Websites
Historic England Research record for Sir Moses Montefiore Synagogue, accessed 13 February 2025 from https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1344327&resourceID=19191

End of official list entry

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